In just about every aspect, the Nikon Z6 is identical to the Z7 save for the sensor, which in the case of the Z6 is a 24.5 MP sensor instead of the Z7’s 45.7 MP sensor. Hence, for this review, I am not going to rehash everything discussed in my Nikon Z7 review. I will...
Great review! I am anxious to try out my first mirrorless and think the Z6 would be great with my D850 bodies as well. I noticed you said that under 1/400th you turn OFF IBIS and above you turn it on? I am confused as to why when using slower shutter speeds you’d turn it off? Again, great write up sir!
Scott – Thanks for catching that. I just corrected that. Below 1/400th second I turn the IBIS on and above 1/400th second I turn it off. Sorry for the confusion.
It was a bit of a relief to read your experience with somewhat soft images. I have yet to offload an image I consider really sharp using the 24-70/4, 50/1.4 ais, 70-200/2.8 VRII, or 500/4 AF-S. They’re all “ok” on the rear screen (until pixel peeping, which I never did with my D700 or D800), but kind of frustrating on the monitor. I’ll try the setting you recommend for Adobe and experiment from there. I’m also going to try Nikon’s software and compare how it handles to raw images.
I also wonder about the AA filter. I’d far rather deal with an occasional moire in post than have a strong filter that compromises overall sharpness.
Vince – Yes, they come in looking quite soft and adjusting the sharpening in Lightroom makes all the difference in the world.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the thoughtful and informative review.
With the current (Feb 2019) Z6 firmware, are you finding that, when shooting action in high frame rate AF-C, the two Wide AF area modes gnerally work best?
Michael,
Thanks for the great review. You said ‘the AF tracking capabilities of the Z6 are still no where near as capable as those in my trusty Nikon D850 or the AF capabilities of the Sony A9.’ But is the AF good enough for your type of action photography? Or will you primarily be using the video features of the camera?
I’d love to get the Z6 for portrait photography but I’m still unsure whether the limtited AF capabilities could cause problems. (I’ll be shooting one ore two weddings, too.)
Regards,
Johannes
The Z6 can track some subjects quite well as shown in that ski shot. It is just super fast erratic subjects that it might have trouble with. I am still experimenting with AF modes on the Z6. But my go to AF mode is the dynamic AF mode for AF-C.
The D850, and the Nikon D5, still hav the best AF on the market as far as I know. The new AF update for the Sony A9 might surpass those but that is still yet to be figured out. For me it doesn’t matter as I don’t shoot with Sony. The AF on the Z6 is excellent, but for crazy fast sports work it might not be up to the task as well as the D850. For anything not moving crazy fast it is more than capable. For weddings you would have no issues at all with the AF. For portraiture it is totally fine, though I suppose that depends on what you are expecting. The new Eye AF feature to be released in May will hopefully allow it to focus on eyes at f/1.4. For that type of stuff I just click over to manual and use focus peaking when shooting portraits with my Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 on the Z6 (with the adapter). That is more accurate than even the 85mm wide open on my D850. We will see what the new firmware update brings on that front. Fingers crossed it is amazing!
Great review! I actually jumped head-first into the Nikon mirrorless system late December 2018. So far, I’m loving everything about it – the size, the mount size, the EVF, the display, ergonomics, etc. I’m very hopeful having peeped some of the Eye AF content recently that with these firmware updates, the camera will improve significantly. I weighed waiting–even trying the A7iii, but in the end, the optics possibilities intrigued me with the Z series cameras which is one of the biggest reasons I stayed with Nikon. That, and to see all my glass and learn a whole new system just seemed too much for me at the time.
Over all, really loving the camera. Switching the WB modes, the AF modes, all of that is so intuitive. One thing I was wondering about is when you’re using off camera flash. Does anyone know if you’re setting up a shot and your killing all the ambient, is there a way to see the image exposed normally so as to gain focus, without switching your ISO or shutter back and forth – lightening it up to see the object and focus, then changing it back to the exposure for flash before shooting? Is there a way to change that function so you only see the image after you’ve shot it – but not in the EVF?
Thanks again for your indepth reviews – always interesting stuff – especially when it affirms my purchase decisions. 🙂
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Andy – Likewise, I am loving the new Z series Nikon mirrorless cameras as well. There is a way to be able to see your subject when shooting with flash and when underexposing. Go to the Custom Settings menu to “d8 Apply settings to live view” and turn it to off. Then the EVF will give you a real time view of what is in front of the camera so you can see what is going on. Hope this helps.
[…] entirely at home with the Z 6 yet: there are issues with sharpening parameters, which are addressed here […]
Thanks Michael! I’ll try that out – that will make things way easier! Loving this camera. Very excited to see their Eye AF update in May – an add on to an already amazing camera. So glad I upgraded from the D750! Keep up the amazing work and thorough reviews.
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Excellent review! I was very excited when Nikon ANNOUNCEd this camera, but the AF capabilities do give me pause. I primarily shoot outdoor actions sports with a D850 and D4. However, last year I bought a Sony A7iii for video and did some experimenting using it to shoot some mountain bike events. The Sony has excellent AF, but lacks in other areas that made it less than ideal for my work in event photography. I certainly loved the video capabilities of the Sony, but after an 8 month trial, I decided to sell it. With my D4, d850, and all my past Nikon cameras I prefer to use AF-C with single point or occasionally 9 point AF options. In your experience, how does the Z6 AF-C single point stack up to the d85o for fast moving subjects at relatively close range?
Curtis – As I said in the review the Z 6 is no D850 in terms of AF. It did pretty well with surfing but the subject was quite far away. It isn’t as bad as the internet might lead you to believe. Also, Nikon is upgrading the AF here in a few weeks so we will have to see. You will have to try it out for yourself to see if it will work for you.
[…] about the Z6 camera, as there are already vast masses of reviews out there. Take a look at this blog by Michael Clark and this review on […]
Thank you for the review. Nikon z6 is already on my shopping list for the upcoming wedding season (if it starts :)). The only thing I miss is an electronic shutter faster than 1/8000
Thank you for the review !
Great Review!
A great description of the equipment I am thinking of buying a Nikon
Really nice review! thanks 🙂
I’ve been shooting with the z6ii for the past year and a half. this is the first time I had heard of this issue, but you’re totally right! It has been frustrating seeing just off from sharp images, yet when I record in 4k video, my video is sharper than my images could ever be, especially in low light. Don’t get me wrong though, I do really love the camera. I am just very happy to see that this issue is not just my own!